If there's any smartphone by a big manufacturer, which doesn't have an office or an official distributor in the Philippines, that I'd want my online gadget reseller friends to bring here, it would have to be Xiaomi Mi-Two.

First time to hear about the brand?! Well, Xiaomi Tech is a very young Chinese mobile phone manufacturer that appears to specialize in creating very affordable Android phones featuring top-notch - even industry-leading - technical specifications.

And their flagship release this year, Xiaomi Mi-Two is no exception to that. To be priced at only around $315 or roughly Php 13,500 (with current conversion and before subsidies) when it hits the market come October, the smartphone runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system right out of the box with 1.5 GHz Quad Core Krait APQ8064, which is easily the most powerful CPU you can get on a smartphone as of writing. Yes, more powerful than even the one running Samsung Galaxy S3; I'll show you the benchmarks soon! Other key specifications and features include 2 GB of RAM, 4.3-inch 720p resolution IPS LCD display, 8 MegaPixel autofocus camera with LED flash, F/2.0 aperture and 26mm FoV, 1080p at 30 frames per second or 720p at 90 frames per second video recorder, 16 GB of internal storage and microSD card slot for expanding it. As for connectivity, the Mi-Two supports WiFi, Bluetooth and HSPA+ mobile connection with speeds of up to 42 Mbps. Again, all that for just $315?! Crazy!

I heard that Xiaomi phones run Android skinned by an interface called MIUI, which looks a lot like iOS. Interesting, eh? Can't wait to play with that!

So how does Xiaomi Tech keep the price of its powerhouse phones that low? They haven't really disclosed their secret. But I think that, aside from the fact that cost of production is generally low in China (low cost of labor, low cost of electricity and raw materials, economies of scale, etc.), they do it by keeping the design of their handsets free from unnecessary accents, embellishments, and expensive materials that only add to what consumers pay for. Brilliant, don't you think?

Do you like this handset, TP Friends? Do you think you'll get it in case online resellers bring it to the Philippines? What would be a good price range for it? Kindly leave your comments below.